


Gold Pieces

by thethinkingfruit



Category: Fire Emblem Series, Fire Emblem: If | Fire Emblem: Fates
Genre: Bad Decisions, Because the guy has been cooped up in a castle, Comfort/Angst, Disguise, In other words Niles is very patient with his boyfriend and helps work through the fellow's issues, M/M, Prostitution, Understanding Significant Others, and now it's war, communication issues, he's still sorting some difficult feelings out
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-06-02
Updated: 2016-06-02
Packaged: 2018-07-11 21:32:47
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,627
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/7071196
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/thethinkingfruit/pseuds/thethinkingfruit
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Being a prince cooped up in a castle for most of your life can be difficult. Suddenly being free, then meeting the love of your life, falling for them and them for you, and realizing you have no idea what you're doing? That's the new definition of terrifying--or at least, you think it is. Then the real problem starts.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Gold Pieces

**Author's Note:**

> In my FE: Fates Conquest run, my MU Duncan ended up S-supporting with Niles, which was great, until the gears in my brain started turning and wanted to try and explore my idea of Duncan's character. If you want to see what he looks like, [feel free to check out his (albiet short) tag on my tumblr!](http://thethinkingfruit.tumblr.com/tagged/Duncan%20\(FE\))
> 
> Most of the characters mentioned above beyond Duncan and Niles are only discussed in passing. I wasn't sure whether to include them or not, but decided to. If people think that should be changed, please let me know!
> 
> And on that note, enjoy!

                Duncan didn’t want to be ill prepared for Niles, but the more he thought about pleasing the man, the more his heart got tight and a cold sweat overcame him. Trapped in a fortress with such minimal contact with the outside world—his siblings visited, and he had retainers like Felicia and Flora, Jakob and Gunter, even Lilith—but that wasn’t much. He did not get the opportunity to experiment, to learn, to even maybe gain an inkling of understanding how all bodily pleasures and romance, love and lust, mixed together. If he had known he was going to be in a position such as this, he would have scourged the entire library to find books on the subject.

                He didn’t want people to misunderstand, though. He loved Niles. More than his heart could bear. Every time he saw Niles his heart would flutter and a feeling of overpowering warmth would make his entire body tingle. The first time he got it he thought he was coming down with some kind of fever, but now that he knew what it was, Duncan looked forward to the feeling.

                Nevertheless, Duncan still had some anxieties, especially partaking in _the act_ , as he preferred to call it to himself. It made it seem more ambiguous than it really was, distancing Duncan from it, which made him feel safer for a time. Niles said he was okay that nothing had transpired beyond a few chaste kisses, hands brushing in the darkness, feet touching underneath the covers in Duncan’s bed—because there was no way he was letting Niles stay in the outlaw’s damp, cramped quarters any longer on his own—but Duncan feared that one day, it would not be the case.

                It was not that Duncan was disgusted by the act. He was intrigued by it, at least, and wanted to experience it, but he feared that in the end, he would be disappointing. He had missed his chance to learn with trysts and lovers like his older siblings, and the majority of the other soldiers. Even Niles, who had been open that he had kept a few bedfellows before Duncan, had experience (although he assured Duncan they had not been serious and long in the past). But now, Duncan knew that he needed to be able to make it up to Niles, to make up for his inexperience, but he didn’t know how, he didn’t know who to ask or what to ask. The books he had gathered up (secretly, last thing he wanted was people _talking_ ) and perhaps that was why Duncan was sitting outside a brothel in the dark, wondering if he should go in, if he should ask for suggestions, for help, or would people just laugh? It left a nasty feeling in his stomach, like he had eaten something sour, going in and asking, trying to figure out _something,_ and he knew that if he did, it would be betraying Niles if anything went farther than a look. Duncan didn’t even _want_ a look, not from anyone in there, but the fear of disappointing Niles was much more overwhelming.

                It took several more moments of fretting before Duncan went inside. The place was perfumed and he choked on the smell. The owner—or the manager, he wasn’t sure—asked what he was looking for, and Duncan, honestly, had to reply, “I-I don’t know.” His eyes were stinging from the unfamiliar armoas. The woman sized him up. She had makeup caked on her face and a mole next to her lip, and she had a cold look about her. Duncan wilted underneath the gaze, before she nodded, as if _she_ knew what he needed or wanted, even though that wasn’t possible. She held out a hand, strong and weathered, and she demanded her price in gold.

                “Seven pieces. Room for the night, first-timer’s price. Will send someone your way. Up the stairs, to the right.”

                Duncan wasn’t even sure if he wanted to pay, until there was a clank of coin and the woman had taken his coin purse, dropping the coins into her outstretched palm. Duncan felt someone push him along—another attendant had arrived, a woman scantily clad, and she smiled at him almost sweetly as they helped him up the stairs, taking his cape and hanging it on a hook in a room he shouldn’t have paid seven pieces for. He estimated maybe three pieces, tops.

                The bed was small; it could barely fit two people, the sheets were rumpled and the room no longer stank of perfume, but of something else. At least, however, the sheets looked clean. Unsure of what to do, Duncan hesitantly took a seat on it. Somehow he had wound up here, and if he wanted to, he could leave, pretend none of this was happening.

                Duncan thought of Niles again, and a bitter taste formed in his mouth. _I don’t want to disappoint you, love._ _Forgive me._

                There was a knock at his door. Duncan did not signal for anyone to come in, but a man—tall, face obscured with decorate satin and thin fabrics, sidled into the room. Duncan wasn’t sure where to look, so instead he just looked away, hands folded in his lap, legs clamped shut as if that alone would ward this tempter away. At the very least the person was making Duncan uncomfortable, but at the same time Duncan was frozen on the spot.

                “So…what brings you here?” the mysterious man asked. He sauntered to Duncan, hovering in front of him. Duncan swallowed and shut his eyes. “Here to sample our curious tastes? Here to let your inner demons free?”

                “I-I-I…”

                A hand drew down Duncan’s neck, to his chest. The man was too close for Duncan’s liking. His touch felt like fire, searing into Duncan’s frame. For a moment, the lord froze.

                “Or do you want something else…?”

_I don’t want this._

_I want to go home, to Niles._

                The hand was trailing lower and Duncan jumped. “G-Get back! I changed my mind!” Duncan squeaked, before pushing the hand away, frantically swatting at the man. “Please move, I wish to leave this instant, and I’m heading home.”

                The figure instead blocked his path. Duncan took a step back, glancing around, wondering if there was a window—he didn’t see one. He hadn’t brought his sword, and he didn’t dare try and turn into a dragon. That would only cause a mess in the establishment, make matters worse, and Duncan had already made a mess of things to begin with.

                “P-Please,” he begged again. “Please move.”

                The figure, oddly enough, chuckled, reaching up. Duncan was sure he was going to attack, to strike him, this is why Xander had always warned him _not_ to go to these places, as he put it, "Bad things would happen," what was Duncan _thinking?_  He scrambled back, ready for a blow, until the man just removed the beautiful finery that had adorned his features. The silk scarf dropped down from his face, revealing a familiar, coy grin.

                Niles looked him over rest of the cloth. “Really, Duncan? I never pictured you to be such the panicky type.”

                For a moment, Duncan wondered if this was all a bad dream he had cooked up in his head, sleeping. He’d wake up next to Niles in a few moments, cold feet no longer frozen, nuzzled against one another. He shut his eyes, willing himself to wake up, but all he heard was, “What, don’t like what I’m wearing? I picked it out especially for you.” and Duncan knew that no, this was not a dream, he had wandered into this nightmare all on his own, and all Duncan could do was sit down on the bed and burst into tears.

                This alone was enough to make Niles’ sly grin vanish, almost completely. Duncan could barely hold back the sobs, before he managed to stutter out, “Wh-what…what are you doing here?”

                “Following you, of course. You didn’t head home like you normally did,” Niles replied dryly. He glanced about the room. “Why would you trade this for the comfort of our room? Of all the places a prince could go for a little fun, and you pick here.”

                “That’s not what I meant, I mean what are you—” Duncan could barely see through his tears and he was too choked up to continue. Furiously he threw his hands up and down at Niles’ general attire. “D-Dressed like a—”

                “Prostitute? Streetwalker? Whore? You can say it, my lord. Besides, wasn’t this what you were looking for?”

                “No!” Duncan’s voice cracked. “No, I wasn’t!”

                “Then what _were_ you looking for? You’ve kept yourself from our bed and wound up here of all places. What am I supposed to think?” Niles still didn’t smile. Duncan managed to claw away his tears, sharp nails digging down his cheeks, the pain orienting him back to the scene at hand. “And I spent a decent time dolling myself up, only to be jerked around.”

                “No, I-I…” Duncan clamped his hands over his ears. “Niles, please, listen. I-I…”

                Niles went quiet. Duncan tried to take a deep breath but they only came out as gulps. “I wasn’t—I couldn’t—no. I don’t know what I’m doing. I’m just…I didn’t…”

                “Didn’t what? Didn’t like the choice you made?”

                “No! I didn’t want to disappoint you!”

                “Disappoint me?” Duncan missed how Niles’ voice faltered for a moment, and then grew soft. Duncan didn’t notice how as he spoke, Niles crept closer, shedding most of the garb that he was wearing, until most of the fancy silks were just dropped on the floorboards.

                “Y-Yes…I…I don’t know what I’m doing, I don’t know what I _would_ be doing, I…I didn’t want you to…to be disgusted, or upset, or…I wanted to learn, but I can’t do it, I don’t want anyone here except you, but I’m so scared that I won’t be—”

                “Fulfilling?” Niles asked. Duncan nodded. The bed sank next to him and trembling, Duncan leaned into Niles’ arms. “Adequate? Pleasurable? Worth having?”

                “I wanted to blow your socks off,” Duncan said. Niles snickered at this, and it took a moment for Duncan to realize why. He made a distressed, strangled noise, before following up with a sorrow-filled, “I don’t know what I was thinking.”

                “Neither do I, but I appreciate you remaining strong when wandering around these womanly wiles and gentlemen’s charms. Many lesser men wouldn’t.”

                Duncan still wouldn’t look at him. Niles’ calloused hand reached up and drew Duncan’s face towards his own, but Duncan jerked away again.

                “I’m sorry,” Duncan finally said. His voice broke again. “I’m so sorry. I love you—but I’m so sorry.”

                Warm arms wrapped around him, pulling Duncan close. A hand found Duncan’s hair and stroked it, fingers weaving through it protectively, drawing the frazzled strands straight again. Duncan fought at first before finally, he gave in, sagging against Niles wearily. Niles reached up, drawing a thumb over the ugly red claw marks that now streaked Duncan’s cheeks.

                “Duncan, we will make love when you are ready,” Niles replied. “We’ll figure out what you want from it together, when you are ready. It won’t happen a moment sooner, and I wouldn’t dare want anyone else to handle you but me. I appreciate the sentiment that you wanted to have experience, but this is not what I want.”

                “Me running off to unsavory establishments?” Duncan asked.

                “That too, but this…you, in tears because of me. The only tears I want to see you crying are tears of joy or ecstasy.”

                Duncan frowned at this, and Niles chuckled. He gently kissed Duncan’s forehead, and Duncan felt his cheeks blossom with a rosy hue. They went quiet for a while, basking in one another’s company, Duncan doing his best to ignore the squeaking noise above him and wanton moans that made him want to crawl away with embarrassment. This truly was a foolish idea—he was just grateful that Niles had come for him.

                “I’ll make this up to you,” Duncan whispered. Niles chuckled, his chest rumbling underneath Duncan’s cheek.

                “I know you will, my dear, but when you are ready. Just don’t go running off again. Some places aren’t as friendly as this.

                When the awkwardness and the fear finally vanished, Duncan took a deep breath, and sighed. The more logical side of his mind started to process things, and he squinted at Niles’ attire.

                “Wait, how did you even get dressed like this?” Duncan asked, pulling away and looking Niles up and down curiously. Niles rolled his shoulders and smirked, tilting his head.

                “I have my ways, you know that.”

                “Why do I have a feeling you’re the reason I got a discount?”

                “Of course. You were standing outside so long that I had enough time to figure out this elaborate set up, and I’m a friend of the owner’s. She owed me a few favors.”

                Duncan sighed, exasperated, before he burrowed into Niles’ embrace. “Maybe we can get it back, since we’re not using the room. I don’t want to be here much longer. I just want to go home—with you.”

                Niles nodded slowly at this, wrapping his arms around Duncan. “Let me get dressed first, then we’ll go. We’ll get something to eat, wash up, and then get some rest. Okay?”

                Duncan nodded, limbs heavy, stress washing off of him at Niles’ warm voice, the tears dry on his cheeks. When Niles retreated to go find his proper clothes, the lack of warmth made Duncan shiver. He felt empty and lost as Niles left the room, and he looked around. He finally stood up and gathered up his cloak, wrapping it around himself tightly. Niles reappeared in record time as if he knew Duncan was lost without him, took his hands and held them tightly as they left. At this point, Duncan didn’t mind that he had lost several gold coins out of all of this. To go back home with Niles, to eat some stew, to curl up with his husband, and to take their time with whatever they pleased was worth more than all the gold coins in the world.

                It took a few hours until they settled together in bed, stomachs full, feet touching underneath the sheets. Niles was on his side of the bed, and Duncan was on his. Duncan curled unhappily at the cold, brow furrowing thoughtfully.

                Niles murmured, “Goodnight,” before he went to blow out the candle on the nightstand. The sheets shifted as he did.

                “Niles,” Duncan whispered, and he heard Niles pause, the sheets no longer rustling.

                “Yes?”

                Duncan turned to look at him, before hesitantly, he scooted over underneath the sheets. Niles turned almost instinctively, and held out his arms. Duncan crawled between the crook in one, and Niles laid flat, letting Duncan settle. Soon instead of just their feet touching, their legs tangled. Their chests were flush against one another, and Duncan could feel Niles’ strumming heartbeat. He rested his cheek against Niles’ rising chest, and let himself sink as Niles exhaled.

                Arms wrapped around Duncan. Duncan wrapped his arms back around Niles. One of Niles’ hands scooted upwards against Ducan’s shoulder blades found his way into Duncan’s hair, gently smoothing it underneath calloused fingertips. Niles’ free hand pulled off his eyepatch—he was still, of all things, self-conscious about it—and then blew out the candle. When the light went out, Duncan shut his eyes. He felt Niles breath a sign of relief. Duncan just listened to Niles’ heartbeat, as the outlaw slowly started to drift off to sleep, grateful that things were finally, for a moment, peaceful and perfect.


End file.
